WebDesigner Paginas Web Designer: November 2007

News : Mozilla ships first public beta of Firefox 3

Bugs or not, Mozilla on Tuesday released Firefox 3 Beta 1, the first public step towards the next significant release of the alternative browser.

The new version of Firefox is running about a quarter behind schedule, and has most recently been a target of criticism over its handling of bugs. While the company maintains that such concerns are overblown, it does appear the most significant issues have been addressed.

Even so, the release notes show some problematic bugs. Neither the new Yahoo Mail nor Windows Live mail will work in the release, and the malware protection blacklist is inoperable. Google Maps prints turn-by-turn directions incorrectly, and in Windows, .WMA and .WMV files do not run properly.

"These beta releases are targeted to Web developers and our testing community to gain feedback before advancing to the next stage in the release process," Mozilla said. "The final version of Firefox 3 will be released when we qualify the product as fully ready for our users."

Mozilla plans to add additional features in future betas, and said to expect this first beta to be "a bit rough around the edges."

Specifically, Mozilla is looking for feedback in the areas of new security features, and ease-of-use functionality. It would also like to hear what users think of its new personalization options and platform features, and improvements to the browser's performance.

New features include: malware protection, anti-virus integration to the download list, full page zoom, easier add-on installation, one-click bookmarking, better rendering architecture, and faster page loading.

More information can be found on the Mozilla Developer Blog. A final release date for Firefox 3 has still not been specified, although many are expecting it to come in the first quarter of next year if the betas go smoothly.

News : Amazon pushes Kindle book reader

As expected, Amazon debuted its $399 Kindle book reader at a Monday press event in New York. But will it be enough to finally help electronic books take off?

The retailer is ready to make a big deal out of the product as well: a letter from CEO Jeff Bezos greeted users visiting the Amazon.com front page beginning Monday morning. He says that Kindle was born of his interest in electronic books, and how they could be improved.

"Our top design objective was for Kindle to disappear in your hands -- to get out of the way -- so you can enjoy your reading," Bezos wrote. Amazon engineers had been working on the device for three years.

Kindle supports content from 90,000 sources, including 101 of 112 current best sellers and releases. Electronic books from Amazon are slightly more expensive than a typical book at $9.99 USD.

Subscriptions are also available for newspapers both foreign and domestic, ranging in price from $5.99 to $14.99 USD per month. Magazines run between $1.25 and $3.49 per month. Blogs will also be available for wireless delivery with rates starting at 99 cents a month.

Publishers will be able to upload their own content to the Kindle book store for sale through Amazon's "Digital Text Platform."

What seems to be incorrect from the initial reports of the device is third-party format support. The Kindle is compatible Microsoft Word, HTML, TXT, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP files, however not the popular PDF format out of the box. Amazon will convert PDF files to the Kindle format if they are sent to the company via e-mail.

Like initial reports indicated, the device does have EV-DO wireless connectivity, which would allow it to sync over the air with Amazon's online store from any location. This connectivity would be free, Amazon said, although as the fees above show, the company is making up the difference in other ways.

Up to six Kindle devices can be tied to the same account, which means they can share purchased book content. All devices can read the same book simultaneously as well.

One of biggest attractions to competitor Sony's Reader device was its high-resolution and high-contrast screen, which made it easy to read from. The Kindle screen is not backlit, but it will reflect like much like a piece of paper. Amazon says this will help to eliminate eyestrain.

Not everybody's sold on the Kindle, however. Some have already called the device a flop, pointing to its high price and what seems to be a general lack of interest among consumers for digital books. The Sony Reader has largely failed to catch on despite quite a bit of marketing from the electronics company.

"A lot of the comments remind me what was said when another ground breaking product was launched and folks called it 'an incredibly poor over priced device,'" JupiterResearch senior analysts Michael Gartenberg said, referring to Apple's iPod. Still, there's no denying the interest in digital music by the time the iPod made its debut; the same cannot be said for e-books.